“Human beings are settlers, but not in the pioneer sense. It is our human occupational hazard to settle for little. We settle for purity and piety when we are being invited to an exquisite holiness. We settle for the fear-driven when love longs to be our engine. We settle for a puny, vindictive God when we are being nudged always closer to this wildly inclusive, larger-than-any life God. We allow our sense of God to atrophy. We settle for the illusion of separation when we are endlessly asked to enter into kinship with all.”
―Gregory Boyle, Barking to the Choir: The Power of Radical Kinship
[I read Father Greg Boyle’s first book, Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion, almost ten years ago, and it resonates strongly within me still. It’s one of the most compelling accounts of what it means to be in solidarity with the least, the last, and the lost in our world. He invites us to wade into the muddy waters with him, just as Jesus did in the river Jordan, becoming one with all of us. His second book, Barking to the Choir: The Power of Radical Kinship, is a sweet continuation of stories about redeeming relationships, enduring love, and the gospel task of seeing the Divine in every face. It’s folksy, real, and true. No better mix to have. This week’s readings come from this book. I hope they stick with you. –Jim Marsh, Jr.]
